Author Archives: John Nicholson

This may well be the first time that you hear Bobby Goldsboro talked about in the football column and it will almost certainly the last. Bobby, you may or may not recall is a singer who had a few hits … Continue reading →

The great thing about football is that it is a never-ending soap opera. One tournament draws to a conclusion and it’s not long before another begins. In a little over a week, the Under 19s European Championship gets underway with … Continue reading →

Man, I am seriously jonesing for some football. After nearly three weeks of up to three games a day, suddenly, my world has dropped off a cliff. A blank, non-football day arrived yesterday and worse still has been followed by … Continue reading →

And so the England inquest begins once again. After every tournament the same earth is dug over and over again. There can’t be a single argument, idea or notion that hasn’t been given an airing in the last 48 hours. … Continue reading →

If you support England, how are you feeling right now? The next 24 hours or so are a test of everyone’s bottle. Some England fans tend to think this is a unique condition that afflicts them only but it’s the … Continue reading →

Well we’re almost there. The future is about to be written. English football fans are right now full of typical pre-tournament nervousness, arrogance, pitiful lack of self-belief, cynicism, doubt and jingoism. Welcome to England. The World Cup is the world’s … Continue reading →

So that’s the phoney war over. We’ve all had our say about England; who should be in and who should be out. We’ve discussed which formation they should play and which personnel should play it. Injuries haven’t been as bad … Continue reading →

World Cup years give all club managers a real dilemma. Do you try and recruit all your transfers before the tournament or do you wait until it’s over? The fact is, every WC is the world’s biggest advertising brochure for … Continue reading →

So Cesc is off then. So long and thanks for all the skill, the vision and the bushy eyebrows. Is this an Arsenal crisis in the making? Wasn’t Wenger building that team around Fabregas? How can you replace a player … Continue reading →

If Fabio Capello is in the mood to talk players out of international retirement as seems to be the case with Jamie Carragher, perhaps the Italian could go around to Paul Scholes house for a cappuccino and one of those … Continue reading →

Remember Steve McClaren? The wally with the brolly? The man who was torn apart by the British press after his England tenure ended in defeat? This weekend he won the Dutch Eredivisie League with FC Twente. This is a big … Continue reading →

Some people don’t get football. They think we’re mad to follow this mercurial sport that gives at least as much pain as it does pleasure. Well the next time someone asks why you’re so mad about football tell them about … Continue reading →

Football is all about goals. That’s the cliché anyway, and it’s obviously true. Goals win games. But while this remains true, football is also about the art of defending. Defending is the less glamorous brother of attacking; the more dour, … Continue reading →

Any club in the world that currently employees a top class player and wants to keep hold of him will for the next couple of weeks be avid Spurs supporters. Currently the north Londoners hold a two point lead over … Continue reading →